Exterior rear view mirror integral warning light

ABSTRACT

An exterior rear view mirror assembly is disclosed which incorporates a warning light actuatable in conjunction with the vehicle turn signals to alert adjacent motor vehicles of an anticipated turn. The warning light is integrated into a first decorative cover member and may be connected to the vehicle turn signal circuit by way of connectable electrical leads or by an integrally formed plug and outlet arrangement. A second decorative cover member may be substituted for the first decorative cover member when it is not desired to incorporate the warning light.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/847,610 filed May 2,2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,227, which is a continuation of Ser. No.09/351,249 filed Jul. 12, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,783, which is acontinuation of Ser. No. 08/837,866 filed Apr. 25, 1997 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to rear view mirror assembliesfor motor vehicles and more particularly to exterior motor vehiclemirror assemblies which incorporate auxiliary warning lights.

2. Discussion

Auxiliary warning lights have long been incorporated on the sides ofmotor vehicles to provide a means of communicating the intentions of theoperator thereof to adjacent vehicles such as for example the intentionto change traffic lanes or to make a turn. Such lights are advantageousin providing notice to an adjacent vehicle that may be located in ablind spot and positioned such that the signaling vehicle's tail lightsare not visible to the adjacent vehicle's operator.

While incorporation of such auxiliary warning lights is relatively easyand straightforward on work-type vehicles it becomes a somewhat morecomplex problem when passenger-type vehicles are involved due in part tothe importance of aesthetic appearance. Other considerations which mayapply to any type of vehicle include the need to position the lights soas to minimize any impact on the vision of the vehicle operator and tomaximize the area to the side and rear of the vehicle from which theauxiliary lighting is visible. Additionally, because in many cases thevehicle manufacturer may want to offer the auxiliary lightingarrangement as an option on certain vehicles, it is highly desirablethat the lighting system be designed to easily and convenientlyintegrate with the existing vehicle design so as to minimize added laborand/or costs associated with its installation.

The present invention provides a highly effective and aestheticallypleasing auxiliary lighting system which is integrated into thevehicle's exterior rear view mirror assembly. Preferably, the auxiliarywarning light of the present invention will be positioned on thelaterally outer surface of the vehicle's exterior rear view mirror insuch a manner as to be visible throughout an arc extending about 90degrees rearwardly from a line extending generally perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the vehicle. In this manner maximum visibility ofthe auxiliary warning light is provided to vehicles coming alongside theequipped vehicle while still preventing the emitted light from beingvisible to the vehicle operator or oncoming traffic. It should be noted,however, that the auxiliary warning light may be positioned so as to bevisible to oncoming traffic in addition to the above referenced arcshould this be desired and may in fact replace fender side marker lightsrequired in certain countries.

In one form the light is integrated into a removable decorative coveringwhich is secured to the mirror housing and a pigtail is provided forconnecting the light to a wiring harness in the interior of the mirrorhousing. In a modification of this embodiment, the decorative covermember incorporating the light assembly is provided with a plug and themirror housing includes a receptacle whereby electrical contacts on thecover member may be “plugged into” the receptacle as the decorativecover member is fitted to the housing. This last arrangement furtherreduces the costs associated with final assembly as no separate effortis required to make the electrical connections for the auxiliary warninglight. Further, the integration of the light assembly into thedecorative cover member greatly facilitates the offering of theauxiliary lighting feature as an option because only the decorativecover member need be changed to add or delete this auxiliary lightingfeature.

Additional advantages and features of the present invention will becomeapparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a side of a motor vehiclehaving an exterior rear view mirror assembly incorporating an auxiliarywarning light provided thereon all in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the mirror assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section view of the mirror light assembly of FIG. 1, thesection being taken along line 3—3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mirror housing with alternativedecorative cover members shown in position for installation thereon, allin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view of the back side of a decorative cover member having alight assembly incorporated therein which includes an integrally formedelectrical connector in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view of a portion of a mirror housing incorporating anelectrical outlet adapted to mate with the plug shown in FIG. 5, all inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a motor vehicle having mirrors in accordancewith the present invention secured to opposite sides thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 7, thereis shown an exterior rear view mirror assembly indicated generally at 10installed on the door 12 of a motor vehicle 14. Mirror assembly 10 is ofthe typical breakaway design and includes a housing 16 pivotablysupported on an arm 18 extending outwardly from a generally triangularlyshaped mounting plate 20. As shown in FIG. 7, preferably two mirrors 10will be mounted on a vehicle 14, one on each side thereof.

Housing 16 may be of any desired shape and includes an upper wallportion 22, a lower wall portion 24, a forwardly facing wall portion 26and inner and outer wall portions 28 and 30 all of which merge smoothertogether so as to present a pleasing appearance. The rearwardly facingportion of housing 16 is open and is adapted to receive a reflectivemirror 32. Mirror 32 may be either of any suitable type such as flat,concave or convex or of the type which automatically adjusts to reduceglare. A suitably shaped support member (not shown) is secured withinthe housing and serves to movably support mirror within the opening. Thesupport member may include suitable drive motors and the like for remotecontrol adjustment of mirror as well as means for heating the mirror ifdesired. Housing 16 also contains a recessed portion 34 extending overat least a part of upper, inner, outer and forwardly facing portions 22,28, 30 and 26 which is adapted to receive a decorative cover member 36which cover member may be chromed, colored to match the vehicle or ofsome other finish to present an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

As thus far described, mirror assembly 10 is typical of existing rearview mirror assemblies currently employed on various motor vehicles.However, mirror assembly 10 of the present invention also incorporatesan auxiliary warning light assembly 38 integrated with the decorativecover member 36.

As best seen with reference to FIG. 3, auxiliary warning light assembly38 includes a light housing comprising a base member 40 having anopening 42 therein which is adapted to receive a suitable electricalsocket 44 having a light source 46 provided thereon. Preferably opening42 will be designed with two or three radially outwardly andcircumferentially extending open portions whereby segmented inner flange48 of light socket 44 may be inserted and then turned a few degrees tolock it in place. It should be noted that any suitable available lightsource 46 may be utilized. A suitable pigtail and associated electricalconnector 50 is also provided extending outwardly from socket 44 whichis adapted to be connected to connector 52 of wiring harness 54 providedin housing 16. A lens member 56 is secured to base member 40 and isdesigned so as to direct light emitted from light source outwardly frommirror housing through an arc 58 extending approximately 90 degreesrearwardly from a line 60 passing through the mirror 10 and extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 62 of the motorvehicle 14. In order to enhance the visible light transmitted by thelens 56 the inner surface 64 of base member 40 will preferably be coatedwith a reflective material and shaped so as to direct a maximum amountof light from the light source 46 to the lens 56.

Light assembly 38 will preferably be mechanically secured to decorativecover member 36 by means of integrally formed snap fasteners so as toform a one-piece assembly therewith. Although any other suitable mannerof securing light assembly 38 to decorative cover member 36 may be usedsuch as for example adhesive bonding, sonic welding, molding or evensuitable separate fasteners. It is desirable that lens 38 have an outersurface which is shaped so as to form a substantially smoothcontinuation of the outer contour of decorative cover member as is shownin FIGS. 1 and 2.

In order to accommodate light assembly 38, housing 16 is provided withan opening 66 on the recessed part of outer surface portion 30 whichunderlies decorative member 36. While housing 16 is shown as providingan opening 66 to accommodate light assembly 38, in some applications itmay be desirable to provide an enclosed recess in place thereof.Additionally, as mentioned above, a wiring harness 54 having a suitableelectrical connector 52 will be provided within housing 16 so as to beaccessible through opening 66 or within the recess if such is providedin place of the opening 66.

In order to assemble decorative member 36 and associate light assembly38, one need merely interconnect the two electrical connectors 50, 52and thereafter assemble decorative member 36 to housing 16. As shown inFIG. 4, decorative member 36 is provided with a plurality of spacedoutwardly extending tangs 68 on the back surface 70 thereof. These tangs68 are designed to be received within suitable openings provided inhousing 16 and to cooperate with latch members provided therein toretain the decorative member 36 thereon in the same manner as incurrently available mirror assemblies of this type.

Warning light assembly 38 is intended to be interconnected with thevehicle turn signal system so that when one or the other of the turnsignals are actuated, the light assembly 38 provided on the exteriormirror on the corresponding side of the vehicle will also be actuated.In this manner any other vehicle that may be approaching the vehicleequipped with the subject invention or that may be traveling in itsblind spot will immediately be appraised of the equipped vehicle'sintention to turn or change lanes even though they may not be in aposition to see the vehicle tail lights. However, because the light ispositioned on the outer wall portion 30 of the mirror assembly, thehousing 16 and mirror 32 will prevent the driver of the vehicle frombeing distracted by this light when actuated.

As previously mentioned, the subject invention is particularly wellsuited for offering of the auxiliary warning light as an optionalaccessory by vehicle manufacturers. As shown in FIG. 4, the overall sizeand shape of the decorative member 36 incorporating the light assembly38 is such that it may be easily and conveniently interchanged with adecorative member 72 which does not include the light assembly. Thus,during final assembly of the mirror, the assembler need merely selectone or the other of the two decorative cover members 36, 72 forattachment to the mirror housing 16 depending upon the desires of theintended customer. Further, should a purchaser of a vehicle decide at alater date to either add or delete the auxiliary lighting feature, it isonly necessary to replace the decorative cover member 36 or 72 with theother cover member.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, another embodiment of the subjectinvention is disclosed which further facilitates rapid and low costassembly of the subject invention. In this embodiment, base member 40,light socket 44 and connector 50 are replaced by a base member 73 and alight socket 74 having a pair of electrically conductive pins 76extending outwardly therefrom. Mirror housing 16′ is also modified byreplacing opening 66 with a molded-in cavity 78 in which a pair ofspaced openings 80 are provided positioned so as to receive pins 76 whendecorative member 82 is assembled thereto. Thus, with this embodimentthe assembler need not first interconnect the two electrical connectors50, 52 but rather needs merely install the decorative cover member 82during which pins 76 will be received within openings 80 therebyelectrically connecting light assembly to the existing vehicle turnsignal system. As with the previous embodiment, should a purchaser notdesire to include the light assembly, a cover member without the lightassembly included is easily assembled to mirror housing 16 and willcover and conceal cavity 78 provided therein.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of theinvention disclosed are well calculated to provide the advantages andfeatures above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention issusceptible to modification, variation and change without departing fromthe proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

We claim:
 1. A mirror adaptable for alternate configurations whilemaintaining substantially the same aesthetic contours comprising: ahousing adapted to be secured to an outer surface of a motor vehicle andhaving a generally rearwardly facing opening; a reflective mirrordisposed within the opening; a first contour member forming a majorcontour of the mirror, said contour member being releasably attached tosaid housing whereby the first contour member is interchangeable with asecond contoured member.
 2. The mirror of claim 1 wherein one of saidfirst or second contour members includes a light therein.
 3. The mirrorof claim 2 wherein said one of said first or second contour membersincludes a contour following opaque portion and a light emittingportion.
 4. The mirror of claim 2 wherein said contour member forms amajor contoured surface of said mirror.
 5. The mirror of claim 1 whereinone of said first or second contour members does not include a lightsource therein.
 6. The mirror of claim 1 wherein the cover is attachedvia a tang and latch attachment.
 7. The mirror of claim 1 wherein one ofsaid contoured members includes a light transmitting lens forming acontour of the outer surface of said first decorative cover member. 8.The mirror of claim 7 comprising a light assembly operably attachedunder said light transmitting lens.
 9. The mirror of claim 8 whereinsaid light assembly includes a light housing wherein said contoured lensis attached thereto and a light source supported in said housing.
 10. Amethod of assembly of a mirror with an auxiliary warning light as anoptional assembly comprising: providing a mirror housing adapted to besecured to an outer surface of a motor vehicle and having a generallyrearward facing opening with a reflective mirror in said opening;providing at least one contoured cover member which may be selectedduring assembly from the group of a member having a decorative memberincluding a signal light or a decorative member not having a light forforming a contour of said housing; and assembling said decorative memberwith said housing for forming a contoured mirror assembly.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 wherein said decorative member may be replaced with aseparate member after initial assembly.
 12. The method of claim 10wherein the decorative member includes a contour following opaqueportion and a light emitting portion.
 13. The method of claim 10 whereinthe decorative member is a contoured form following member forming amajor contoured portion of the vehicle.
 14. The method of claim 10wherein the contoured member is secured therein using a tang and latchsecurement.
 15. The method of claim 10 wherein the decorative memberhaving a signal light including a contoured lens portion and an opaqueportion.
 16. The method of claim 10 further comprising a lens assemblyand surfaces forming a lens receiving portion in said contoured memberfor receiving said lens assembly.
 17. The method of claim 16 whereinsaid lens receiving portion includes electrical contacts for press fitassembly and electrical connection to said light assembly.